Passengers trapped as Tube carriage filled with smoke and fumes

Terrified Tube passengers were trapped for almost four minutes as their crowded carriage filled with acrid smoke and fumes, an official safety report reveals today.

Despite most of the train being in the station, the doors stayed shut as people struggled to break out.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is appealing for witnesses as part of its investigation into the “uncontrolled evacuation” of the Central line train at Holland Park station at 6.33pm on Sunday, August 25. Its interim report states: “There was potential for injuries as the train was heavily loaded and a large number of people were prevented from leaving it for almost four minutes after it stopped.”

The train was far more crowded than usual because of people going to and from the Notting Hill carnival. The drama was covered at the time by the Standard.

A passenger operated the alarm seconds after the train began moving out. The driver braked and the train stopped with just the first half of the leading carriage in the tunnel. The remainder was still alongside the platform.

Clouds of acrid smoke and fumes were generated by a faulty brake. At that stage, states the report, the driver was not aware of what was happening and doors stayed shut.

Central line operations director Peter McNaught said: “We have apologised fully to our customers and have fully assisted the RAIB in their inquiries, as well as carrying out our own investigation.”